St Laurence Education Trust

Mr Robin Burdell was educated at Ampleforth College (1969-1976) and is currently Head of Finance and Marketing Appointments for RSAcademics Ltd. Previous posts include Director of Finance and Operations for Worth School and Finance Director for Worth Abbey; Business Director and Secretary to the Board of Truro School; Director of Finance and Estates at Nottingham High School; and Head of Finance and Administration and Company Secretary at Stanford Hall Enterprises Ltd. He has served on the Independent School Bursars’ Association (ISBA) Executive Committee, Chairman of the ISBA General Purposes Committee, and on the Board of the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). Robin Burdell is a qualified Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCMA) and a Member of Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMA).

Meg Baines, Cert Ed BA MBA NPQH FRSA, is a retired head teacher who lives with her husband in North Yorkshire. Currently Vice Chair of Governors of a state secondary school and a Diocesan Section 48 Inspector for Middlesbrough, Hexham & Newcastle and Leeds & Bradford Dioceses, she was previously an ISI Section 5 Inspector. Meg was a teacher for 38 years in both state and independent schools across the country. She began her career in 1977 at St Augustine's School, Scarborough, moving to Leeds, Bromley and Crystal Palace where she spent the last 10 years as head of an independent Prep School. Meg has a wide range of teaching experiences and had success as a teacher of PE, RE and History in Walthamstow, Ilford and Bromley. Meg gained an MBA in educational management from Leicester University before becoming deputy head teacher in an all boys school in Ilford. Previously a governor on a number of governing bodies in Sussex and London, Meg was designated safeguarding lead and has recently completed head appraisal training with North Yorkshire County Council. Meg was a member of Independent Schools Association Council for 6 years, representing London South and remains an honorary member. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) since 2005, Meg is keenly interested in educational innovation. She retired from teaching in 2015, but remains a section 48 Inspector and was recommissioned by the Bishop of Middlesbrough in November 2018. Meg is an active member of the parish community, a mother of three grown up children, a doting grandparent and an avid amateur detectorist. 

Barbara Matthews was educated in the United States and moved to the United Kingdom in 1988.  Her career has been spent first in law, as international counsel in both the steel and offshore oil and gas industries, working for FT 100 and Fortune 500 companies negotiating contracts throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East.  Secondly, in 2007 Barbara moved into politics as political assistant to the Conservative Group on the City of York Council.  From 2010-16 she was a non-executive director for one of the region’s largest NHS mental health providers.  Barbara’s daughter was educated through the Ampleforth system, including St Martin’s Nawton, SMA and the College.  She has been married to David since 1988 and her interests include politics, literature and equestrian sports.

John Sykes was educated at Ampleforth College and went on to study Business Administration at Herriot Watt University, Edinburgh, followed by a Masters in EC Competition Law at Kings College, London. He qualified as a solicitor in 1984 and worked as a partner at law firm DLA, and then at Lupton Fawcett from 1992-2017. He is now working as a consultant and is a director of Mohun Intellectual Property Limited, a patent attorney firm.  John Sykes is a member of the Intellectual Property Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys. From 2008-2017 he was governor at Leeds Trinity University.

Richard was educated at Ampleforth College (1981-1986) and went on to study Law at Cardiff University. After 27 years working for British Airways in a wide variety of countries in Europe, North America and Asia, he now runs his own business consultancy in the aviation and travel sector, Tailwind Advisory Ltd. Before leaving the airline in 2018, Richard was posted to Beijing as Executive Vice President Greater China for British Airways and Iberia Airlines of Spain and, prior to that, he was Head of Sales & Marketing in the UK, based at BA’s Heathrow Head Office. He has sat on a number of boards including British Airways Holidays, BA Cityflyer and British American Business Inc. He is an accredited professional coach and also a regular member of the annual Ampleforth Lourdes Pilgrimage.

Kieran McLaughlin is Durham School’s 53rd Headmaster and joined the School in September 2014. He is married with three young sons, all of whom attend the School.  Kieran was born and raised in Liverpool and studied at St Edward's College, a selective boys' school in the city before reading Natural Sciences at Jesus College, Cambridge, eventually specialising in Physics and Theoretical Physics. Following his PGCE, he taught in London at a number of academic schools before becoming Head of Physics at City of London Girls' School. He then moved to Sevenoaks School as their Head of Science and Technology, where he spent four years. Prior to joining Durham, Mr McLaughlin was academic deputy head at the world-famous Rugby School for five years. His wealth of experience means he has a clear understanding and knowledge of the important role that top UK boarding schools play in educating the next generation, and the inherent importance of traditions and history.  During his career, Mr McLaughlin has been involved with a number of national curriculum initiatives, as well as delivering INSET on behalf of HMC and the National College of School Leadership.  In the past, he was the bass player in an obscure Liverpudlian rock band, as well as pursuing the ancient martial art of Ju-Jitsu to black belt level. His current interests include the arts, travel and family life.

Martin Rigby was educated at Ampleforth before reading history at New College, Oxford, graduating in 1978.  He was a regular army officer for seven years before a career in venture capital investment initially at 3i plc and then at ET Capital Limited - a technology venture investment firm based in Cambridge which he founded in 1992.  He is a non-executive director of several   technology and venture investment businesses and is chair of the Morris Education Trust, a multi-academy trust educating over 2,500 pupils in primary and secondary schools in north west Cambridgeshire.  He has an MBA from Cranfield and a BSc in Computing and Information Technology from the Open University.  

Martha was educated at Mayfield School before reading law at Downing College, Cambridge.  Her years in practice as a solicitor began in London and she lived in both India and Hong Kong doing a variety of contentious and non-contentious work across a number of jurisdictions.  She was a Governor of Orwell Park School in Suffolk for ten years, latterly as the Safeguarding Governor. She is currently a Trustee of and Chair of the Nominations Committee for the Ryedale Festival in North Yorkshire, an annual two-week music and performing arts festival. She was also involved in fundraising work for a national charity, Turn2Us. Martha was for many years involved in preparing children and young people for First Holy Communion and Confirmation before moving with her family to North Yorkshire in 2014.  Martha’s husband, Damien, is an old-Amplefordian and their three sons and one daughter were all educated at Ampleforth between 2009 and 2019. She has attended the Triduum Retreat at Ampleforth since 1992 and was closely involved in developing and running the extensive Children’s Liturgy Programme during the Retreat.  Her particular interests include the Rule of St Benedict, contemporary and classical, particularly Baroque, music and long walks with her spaniels.